presented a petition from all the commercial houses of the city of Waterford, with one exception, praying for farther protection to the agriculturist, and slating the great depression under which the farmers of Ireland were labouring, and that the demand for British manufactures and colonial produce had decreased in the proportion of this depression.

said, that he believed the same feeling existed in the commercial city that he represented.

was willing that every consideration should be given to the petition from the city of Waterford; but it was to be recollected that this city was mainly and principally concerned in the exportation of Irish corn, and that it was proposed by this Bill to give the Irish corn-grower the monopoly of the British market. He conceived, therefore, that the town formed no exception to the opinions entertained in commercial towns on this subject.

said, if it was in this way intended to prevent the city of Waterford from receiving due attention because it was concerned in the exporting of Irish corn, he had an equal right to say that a great part of the cities who had petitioned on the ether side were concerned in the importation of foreign corn. It was hard that no petition in favour of the Bill could be presented either from landholders or commercial men, without injurious, charges being affixed to them either by the hon. gentleman or those who took the same side with him. The city of Waterford was as much entitled to a respectful hearing as the city of London.

disclaimed any wish to prevent the petition from Waterford receiving every due attention.

, in presenting a petition from the borough of Evesham, observed, that the expectation of the petitioners had been disappointed chiefly in this; they had expected that Parliament would, in the first instance, have made some attempt to relieve the burthens of taxation by a retrenchment of expenditure, and a reduction of establishment. He expressed his entire concurrence in the principle of the petition.

presented a petition from the landholders and occupiers of land ] in the county of Devon, in favour of the Corn Bill. The petition stated that the poor-houses were filled with agricultural labourers deprived of their usual employment in consequence of the discouragement of agriculture.

said, that the number of persons out of employment might be partly owing to the season of the year, and partly to the hands discharged from the army and navy.

said, in the county which he represented, there never were so many persons out of employment as at present, independent of the hands discharged from the army and navy.

presented a petition against any alteration in the Corn laws, from Hamilton, Lanerk, and several other places in the Glasgow district of boroughs. The hon. member for Glasgow had been reported to have stated not only that his own opinions on this subject were changed, but that his constituents had also changed their opinions. This report had created a considerable ferment in that part of the country; and he was instructed to state most unequivocally, that their opinions on the subject of the Corn laws were still the same.

said, in presenting two petitions the other day to the House, he had stated that the prayer of one of them was in favour of temporary restriction, and of the other, that the protecting price should not exceed 76s. In the debate he had said, that if the importation price were reduced to 75s. or 76s. he thought he might venture to state that it would not be dissatisfactory to a great part of the manufacturing district of Scotland; but whatever might be the feeling at one period, he believed that at the present moment no corn bill which went to raise the importation price above what it stood at present would be acceptable among the manufacturers. He retained his opinion unaltered, that an additional protection was necessary to the agriculturist. He thought that a protecting price of 76s. might be beneficial both to agriculture and manufactures.

rose and spoke to the following effect:—I have here, Sir, a Petition signed by 42,473 inhabitants of Westminster against the Corn Bill now before the House. In presenting this petition, I cannot refrain from stating my own sentiments on the subject of it, with a view of correcting a great mistake, which has gone abroad of my being a friend to the measure. I am, Sir, no supporter of the Corn Bill. My wish is to leave Government to do with it as it pleases, because I believe that none of those who think themselves interested in this measure, are really interested in it. I think that Government alone are interested in the measure, as it is necessary to bolster up the system of taxation which they are resolved to continue. If they would only make a retrenchment of all improper and unnecessary expenditure, and put every thing on a suitable peace establishment, there could be no pretence for inflaming the public mind at the present moment on a topic like this, to bolster up an insupportable system; and if I differ in opinion with some of my constituents, it is not with respect to the measure itself, but with respect to the remedy which they seek. As to the late riots, I think it unworthy of any man that the public indignation should be directed to individuals of any description; and what I wished to impress on the minds of the people, when I had lately an opportunity of addressing them, was—not to waste their efforts against the crude and futile measure now under discussion, but to turn their whole attention to another evil, which included in it all other evils—the corrupt state of the representation in parliament. I have been represented out of doors, as having abandoned my former principles: it has been said that the landlord at length appears, and the patriot disappears; that I have allowed myself to be swayed by private interest, and that his has stifled every other consideration. I may on the present occasion state, that I have, individually and personally, no in-interest whatever in the result of the present measure; that, be that result what it may, it will neither add one farthing, nor take one farthing from me. With respect to my little property—my little establishment—I may, as every man's property is in some sort his kingdom, here say that my little kingdom has ever been on a peace establishment. I have always rather had a permanent state of things in view than the taking advantage of any temporary circumstances. Whether, therefore, the protecting price should be fixed at 80s. or one shilling, or no shillings at all, is a matter of indifference to me. In either case I have no interest: if the Bill ] passes with the protecting price at 80s. the quarter, I shall not raise my rents—and if it does not pass, I shall not lower them. The country has been reduced to such a situation of difficulties, that, according to gentlemen on both sides of the question, we have only a choice of evils. Now I have a measure to propose which is a positive good, and will remedy every evil. I know that some gentlemen have said that it is improper to hash up the subject of the Corn Laws with Parliamentary Reform. Now I maintain, that the one measure necessarily arises out the other, in so far as the enormous taxation from which the Corn Bill takes its rise, is only necessary because the Government choose to keep up an establishment which will be destructive to the constitution. I am borne out in this view of the subject by what was lately delivered in another place, by a noble lord (Grenville), whose eyes were open to the true situation of the country, who said he Was astonished that any set of gentlemen in England could with patience endure the proposition of such a peace establishment; that if they pressed this establishment, it could not be disguised that their intention was to subvert the once free constitution of this country, and to establish a military despotism in its stead; and that in such a case he should no longer think it worth his while to attend mock debates on any subject in parliament. I appeal to every member in the House, if any discussion on any subject proposed by the ministry, can be viewed in any other light than a mock debate; and if any man who sits in the seat which the noble lord opposite (lord Castlereagh) occupies, cannot carry any measure he pleases, by a great majority? Whatever falls from him is received as if he were clothed with the mantle of the prophet—there he sits as an oracle, and all the people bow obedience to him. [Laugh.] I have been represented, Sir, as a friend to the Corn Bill; if I were so, I would not deny it; for my own opinion of the electors of Westminster is, that they would despise me if I were to give an opinion in this House, different from the opinion really entertained by me, by way of paying court to them. But, to cut the matter very short, I will never avail myself of the scandalous Septennial Act; and shall at all times be ready to resign my seat in this House, to whatever person they may think more worthy of it. With respect to the system now adopted of calling out the military and firing out of houses, I must protest strongly against it. One cannot now walk the streets without running the risk of being rode over by dragoons. I was told by a gentleman, that in going along the streets the other night, some soldiers came up to him, and told him to go home. The gentleman said to them:—"I do not know that martial law is yet established;—you may go home if you please, for I will not." The noble lord may say that this military force is necessary to put down the disturbances. But I say, and will maintain that they have been guilty of murder, and that they had no power to call out the military to ride over the people. This was not the force which the constitution required to be called into action for the preservation of the peace. Surely the inhabitants of this city might safely be entrusted with the defence of their own property. No man knows whether he is safe in going along the streets, if people are to be placed in ambuscade, and allowed to fire through doors and windows. [Cries of 'No, no']. I go by the inquest of the coroner, from which it appears that there was no justification whatever for their firing through the windows—that there was no tumult whatever at the time the unfortunate man was killed. But even if there were, ought they not rather to display their force than to conceal it, to prevent the necessity of shedding blood? No man would think of placing steel traps or spring guns in his grounds to protect his property against thieves, without first putting up some notice of it. There never was such a thing heard of before in this country, as putting men in houses with arms to fire with on the people; to invite the people as it were to attack, by shewing no preparation for defence, and then to destroy them in this manner. What could be a stronger proof that the measures resorted to were not necessary, than the instance which my own case affords? I have been supposed by the people to be a friend to the Corn Bill, and have been represented as such in most of the public papers; and yet my house and person have not been attacked, though protected by no guard or military force; for I should have preferred seeing my house razed to the ground to the recurring to any such un-constitutional means, or the having it believed that I could entertain any apprehensions for my safety. The reports stated with such confidence in the newspapers were, however, very generally cre- ] dited. The people must therefore have believed that in supporting the Bill, I acted from an honest motive. Is it very extraordinary that no respect should be paid by the public to majorities of hundreds of the House of Commons? In my opinion, it is not this or that measure which the people should take on themselves to determine against the voice of the Commons; they ought at once to Strike at the root of the evil—the cause of this difference between the sentiments of the people and the determinations of parliament. If the representation were once restored to its purity, the House would not have its table so often loaded with petitions. With respect to the present Bill, I think that there is a great mistake as to the benefits which some persons think they will derive from its being thrown out, and especially as to the advantage which will be derived from this by the labouring classes. The only persons who can be supposed to derive any profit in such a case, are the great master manufacturers, who, by the cheapness of labour, would be enabled to export their manufactures cheaper; but the labourer can gain nothing by it. The master manufacturers complain of the high price of corn, as it raises the wages of their labourers, and prevents them from selling their goods cheap abroad. But it would be quite the same in either case with the labouring classes, whose reward would continue unaltered. It is, therefore, a mistake to suppose that they are at all interested in the question. I think the land proprietors have, in this case, been very unfairly dealt with, and that they have been held up in a very false light. What! are people to tell me what rents I am to have for my estate, and what I am to do with my property? If we wish to have the country wealthy and prosperous, every man must be left to enjoy his property unmolested: and no man or set of men, no government, have a right to interfere with the concerns of any individual. I wish to have every thing free, and to have no protections of any kind. I would have no protection to trade, no protection to agriculture, no protection to any sort of people. We hear every day of the agricultural interest being hostile to the manufacturing interest, and then we hear of the monied interest, and other interests; every class of the community is thus represented as having a distinct interest from the others; we see every man trying to throw off from his own shoulders to those of his neighbour, a burthen which all are unable to bear. I would wish to see an end put to this miserable system, and to see an equal protection extended to all classes of the community. I shall only make this farther observation, that I am sorry that the country gentlemen should allow themselves to be made the cat's-paw of any ministry, as they have done on this occasion. For this and numerous other evils, I defy them to point out any remedy but one—the renovation of the constitution.

rose under great agitation, and spoke nearly as follows:—The House, I hope, will easily believe me, when I say that I never rose to address them with the same feelings before. I should be destitute of every feeling of a gentleman and an honest man, if I were not deeply affected with the unfortunate accident which the hon. baronet has just alluded to. I can assure the hon. baronet that in some of the points alluded to by him, he is extremely mistaken. If the hon. baronet thinks that soldiers were placed in ambush in my house, for the purpose which he has stated, he is very much mistaken indeed. These soldiers were not placed in ambush; they were in the inside of my house, because they would otherwise have had no protection from without—the windows were all destroyed—the door had been driven in—the house had been entered three different times by the mob, and nothing but the sudden appearance of the soldiers could have prevented them from sacrificing myself, if the mob could have found me, and all my family. I do believe, in my conscience, that the lives of the people protecting my property would have been sacrificed, if they had not been protected by the soldiers. The soldiers remained in the House the first night, but they were not there when it was first attacked. I knew the artifices and misrepresentations which had been used to inflame the people against me; and I felt that I owed to those persons whom it was my duty to protect, to withdraw them from the house to a place of security. The house was broken into on the first attack; and the mob threatened to murder the servants if they did not say where I was to be found. Notwithstanding the protection of which the hon. baronet complained, the House will be so good as to recollect that nay house was attacked two or three times after it was first assailed. The ] soldiers had withdrawn at day-light, the populace returned, broke into the house, and pursued the servants to the upper stories, who had little hope of preserving their lives. Under these circumstances I did make application to the Secretary of State to protect the house; which I beg to inform the hon. baronet is not mine, but one which I only temporarily occupy, and which it was therefore the more my duly to protect. The protection I sought was afforded, but it is not true that the troops were placed in ambush; for before a single shot was fired, the soldiers and servants had shewn themselves at the windows. They warned the people against making any attempt upon the house, which would be repelled, and that the consequences must rest with those who commenced the attack. It will be observed also, I hope, that before the Coroner the evidence of any of my servants was not taken; and although no verdict has yet been passed, yet, whatever it be, the occasion of it will ever give me the acutest pain. [From extreme feeling the hon. member was unable to proceed]. I do conjure the hon. baronet, if he values the peace of society, if he values the lives of his fellow-creatures, as he states, that he will abstain from making remarks of such a nature. They can produce no effect but to put to hazard the existence of the peaceable and well-disposed inhabitants. In my own particular situation I must necessarily be more exposed to the vengeance of the deluded populace; I know, when the anxiety which has been expressed and shewn to discover and to trace me, that that vengeance might be satisfied. If I bring a measure forward that is obnoxious, I know that I must expose myself to such hazards; but when the hon. baronet speaks of his own disinterestedness upon this question, I can, on my part, assure him that I, and those nearly and dearly connected with me, are equally disinterested; for by the success of the measure neither they nor I will gain a single sixpence. I think it is the duty of the hon. baronet to abstain from using such expressions and language, as those which he has this night employed, of the impropriety of which, in the existing state of affairs, he must be sensible, after one moment's reflection on the consequences by which they may be attended. [Hear, hear!]

said:—If, Sir, the hon. baronet had confined himself to his usual topics and to his usual invectives against Government, I should have been prepared on the present occasion to have passed them over in silence. This evening, however, his address has been of a far different kind; and I think he has travelled most widely out of the course that I should have been disposed to allow to go unnoticed, when he made reflections upon the steps that either the Government or individual had adopted for the defence of their persons and property against the disgraceful outrages of a lawless rabble. If the hon. baronet had been in his place on a former night (and I am satisfied that if he were not in his heart a sincere friend to the Corn Bill, and fully convinced of its expediency, he would have been in his place), he would have heard, as we all did, that no charge was directed against Government, against those whom he contends have broken the law, for unnecessary severity in the mode in which they afforded protection to those who had solicited it. But such an accusation, I think, is a little too much from the hon. baronet, from whose mouth (on a former occasion, which the House well remembers, when lives were endangered by his improvident resistance to legal authority) we heard repeated with such vehemence, the established adage, that 'every man's house is his castle.' [Loud cheers] What! is it the hon. baronet that now maintains the illegality of self-preservation? Is it the hon. baronet that now insists that an Englishman has not a right to defend himself in his castle, to protect his life and his property against an infuriated multitude—a resistance too, not in violation and defiance of the laws of his country, as was the case with the hon. baronet? Now the hon. baronet changes his tone: he who defends his family and his property, against a lawless mob, if any accident occurs, is guilty of murder; and he who defies the Constitution and refuses obedience to the laws, if lives be lost, is a true patriot, and a loyal subject. I trust that my temper is able to carry me through the ordinary difficulties belonging to the situation I hold, and to the part I am under the necessity of taking in the discussions of this House; but when I hear every dictate of common sense, and every feeling of a loyal nature so grossly outraged, I confess I am unable to speak without being in danger of doing violence even to the widest limits of the freedom of debate. I am sure that the hon. baronet cannot be sincere in his declaration ] respecting his opinion upon this Bill, and in the arguments he employed to his constituents. I say he cannot be sincere, or why did he not make his appearance in parliament to oppose it? Why did he not come down before this night, if he so thought, and say that he was not a supporter of the Bill? Is he an opposer of it? Is there any man who has heard the speech he has made, that does not perceive that he has touched all the arguments on which the support of this Bill is rested? Has he not declared that he is an enemy to affording protection to our manufactures, one of which was the manufacture of corn? Who has founded this measure upon any other principle than that you cannot protect one system of capital without affording protection to all, unless indeed it is meant to destroy that species of manufacture, or system of capital, that is not protected? Thus, while the principles and practice of the hon. baronet are so diametrically opposite, the whole comes to nothing more than an anxiety to subvert the constitution of the country. [Repeated cheers]. It is not the destruction of any particular government that he desires (for this testimony I have from the hon. baronet upon more than one occasion, that if the present system is to exist, it cannot be administered by better hands than those who are now entrusted with it), but he aims with a sweeping hand at the complete destruction of our constitution. He comes tardily from his retreat to attend his duty, not to oppose the Corn Bill, not to destroy the Government, but to subvert the Constitution. He comes from seclusion and retirement upon this favourable opportunity, to invite the opponents of this measure (who are among the steadiest and most distinguished friends of the constitution), to assist him, not in resisting the Corn Bill, but the work he has in view—far different in its means and object. I do trust that those who have resisted the progress of this measure, to such an extent as to ascertain the true sense of Parliament upon the subject, will pause before they range themselves under the banners of the hon. baronet. I do call upon them to reflect seriously before they embark in a common cause of destruction of every thing admirable and respectable with the hon. baronet ['No, no!' and cheers from all sides]. Let them hesitate before, with their eyes opened to the designs of the hon. baronet, they join with him in shak- ing the government and subverting the constitution. If they are not disposed to unite their forces to his for the attainment of his loyal and patriotic purposes, I wish to know whether they are disposed practically to give countenance to sentiments like those this night avowed—calculated only to inflame the diaffected and disturb the peaceable? If such be not their intention, let them assert it and vindicate themselves. Let them, before they take the desperate plunge, survey, if they can, without trembling, the abyss on whose brink they stand, and in which they will be swallowed if they follow the hon. baronet in the most equivocal opinions he has this night delivered—opinions which, if put in practice, would shake to ruins the whole fabric of our constitution, and compel us to abandon the protection of all interests, landed as well as commercial.

said, that though he had at different times wished to offer his opinion on the subject of the Bill, he had abstained from doing so, because he saw that the minds of the people were inflamed. There was no man more attached to the constitution of the country than himself; nor could any one be more ready to deprecate any departure from it: but so far from thinking that the military had been improperly employed, he thought the Government highly praiseworthy for calling them out with a view to put down a mob, which threatened destruction both to the favourers and opposers of it. Every man had a right to defend his castle, and those who attacked it must take the consequences of their temerity. Without such resistance on such occasion, no man could safely live in this country. If the worthy baronet had a fancy to have his house razed to the ground, let him indulge his propensity. The gentlemen over the way had done only what was just. Had they succeeded or had they not? Would not more blood have been shed if these measures had not been resorted to? The worthy baronet seemed to like the company of the hustings in Palace-yard better than he liked that House, or the company in it; but he could not agree with any part of the speech of the hon. baronet, because he conceived that he had a right to the protection of the Government; and without affording it as they had done, he should have conceived they had not done their duty. Those who did not like to ] live under such a system, had better, perhaps, abandon the country altogether.

disclaimed any participation in the sentiments uttered by the hon. baronet.

bore testimony to the provocation given when the soldiery fired from the House of Mr. Robinson. The populace were very outrageous, and were warned by the military, whom they saw loading their muskets at the windows before the attack was made.

felt it unnecessary to trouble the House at length, after the manly and constitutional speech of the noble lord. He rose principally to enter his protest against the doctrines of the hon. baronet, who had talked of his constituents as if they alone were the people of England. He thought that a member much better discharged his duty by attendance in his place, than by dealing out declamations to a mob. In this instance he felt himself bound not only to support ministers, but to express his thanks to them for their firmness and moderation. Were he to make any criticism upon their conduct, he should say, that from constitutional motives they had carried lenity too far. It should not be forgotten, that a civil magistrate was placed even at the head of the military. It appeared to him quite justifiable to place men in ambush if it were necessary for the defence of his house; and he begged to state to the hon. baronet, for the information and caution of his constituents of Westminster, that he should defend his castle to the last.

said:—It is not my wish to trouble the House at any length, more particularly upon what has been said regarding myself personally. I am desirous, however, to set myself right with the right hon. gentleman-opposite (Mr. Robinson). I did not attach any blame to him individually, but to the soldiers who were employed. I do not object to any man's defending his house or his property, provided it be done legally and constitutionally. I should like to see every man in the metropolis armed and organized to preserve tranquillity; but I do object to the interference of the soldiers, by which a military despotism, instead of a constitutional defence, would be established. The hon. baronet who spoke last observed, that a police magistrate had been placed at the head of the troops; but does this render the force at all less military, or alter their character? It reminds me of a story I have heard regarding one of the Westminster elections some years ago. The partizans of the different candidates were organized into small bodies, armed with half-poles, the size of a constable's staff, with which they were able to do great execution, and sometimes even, I believe, committed murders. They were under leaders who conducted them about the town, one of whom one day asked whether it would not be better to have a little law on their side? His men did not understand him, and he proceeded to explain, that what made a legal constable was a painted staff, and he asked them whether it would not be better to have their half-poles painted like them? So it is with those who defend the introduction of the soldiery, and argue that by putting a police magistrate at their head, its military character is changed. Thus it is, that all constitutional modes of defence are neglected and fall into disuse—[Cries of 'No, no!]'. Gentlemen may cry 'No, no,' if they please; but are they ignorant that, constitutionally speaking, such a thing as a standing army is unknown in this country? What, then, was the proper and effectual mode of suppressing riots before our army was employed against the people? My object is not, as the noble lord has been pleased to represent it, to overturn, but to restore the constitution. Let the House recollect who it is that ventures to make this charge against me. Why, the noble lord who was himself detected in an act for which he ought to have lost his head—[Hear, hear! and great confusion].—I say, that for that act the noble lord ought to have lost his head; and by an uncorrupt House of Commons he would have been impeached, and would have suffered. He was exposed and detected in trafficking in seats in this House. The noble lord and his friends around him laugh; he may laugh now, secure in the protection he has received from this House: but when this heinous traffick was disclosed, you yourself, Mr. Speaker, stigmatized it as a new practice, as one at which our forefathers would have started with horror and indignation; and yet the noble lord was pardoned, let it never be forgotten, because the crime was as notorious as the sun at noon-day, and he escaped in the general mass of corruption and delinquency. Yet the noble lord, admitted to be guilty of this great offence, this direct attack upon the constitution, now ventures to stand forward, amidst the ] applauses of the House, as the upholder and supporter of that constitution which it has been proved he endeavoured to overthrow. I cannot approve of the public tumults, the breaking of windows, or of the unmanly practice of attacking defenceless individuals; but still less do I approve of the more unmanly practice of letting loose an armed force upon an unarmed populace. But I can bear with patience the charge of the noble lord, that I wish to renovate the Constitution, because it has been, I am proud to say, the whole object of my life. The hon. baronet has spoken of the electors of Westminster as if they were engaged in these disturbances: he says that he will defend his house to the last against my constituents. Does he mean to assert that the enlightened electors of the important city of Westminster are guilty of these outrages?—[Hear, hear!]—I say that no member has a right to make such an assertion, however obnoxious my constituents may be to the corrupt portion of this House. I have a right to call it so—the noble lord was detected in disgraceful practices—he was taken in the fact—and 'ex uno disce omnes;' that was only one instance of a consistent system of profligacy.

spoke to order. The hon. baronet was not warranted in asserting that the House pursued a consistent system of profligacy.

. The hon. baronet has been long enough a member of this House to know that it is a breach of its orders to use such language.

. I do know it, and I wish that my assertion was not only a breach of order, but a breach of truth—[Order, order!].

thought, that as the hon. baronet had allowed that he knew he was transgressing the orders of the House, his words should be taken down.—[Cries of No. no!]

. It is a matter of perfect indifference to me—the hon. member may do just as he pleases.

explained, that he did not mean to cast any reflection upon the electors of Westminster: he only alluded to certain persons, whom the hon. baronet was in the habit of addressing in Palace-yard.

. The hon. baronet should be informed that the householders of Westminster are the electors. The noble lord has termed my arguments with re- spect to the Corn Bill, equivocal; now I do not care one straw whether the measure is or is not carried. I am only sorry that gentlemen of the country have interfered, and that the people have been deluded by it.

presented a Petition from Liverpool against the Corn laws, signed by 48,000 persons. He stated that this petition had been drawn up and signed without any meeting having been held—from the spontaneous feeling of the inhabitants. The opinion of the people of Liverpool had become decidedly hostile to any alteration in the Corn laws, although formerly they had merely op- posed some particular measures on the subject. He hoped the sense of his constituents, expressed in a constitutional manner, would be attended to.

rose to present three Petitions against the Corn Bill, from Mary-le-bonne parish, from Plymouth Dock, and from his constituents at Taunton; the last of which had come just in lime to be thrown on the table and totally disregarded with the many others which had been presented. He hoped it was not necessary for any member of the House to disavow an intention of exciting tumult, as the noble lord (Castlereagh) had called on the opposers of the Corn Bill to do. He admitted that the Government was justified in using all fair exertions to suppress the disturbances, and he therein differed from the hon. baronet (sir F. Burdett), who, whatever he might do with his vote, had thrown the weight of his argument into the scale with the supporters of the Bill. He thought the hon. baronet wrong also as to the relation which he conceived to exist between the ministers and the country gentlemen. The ministers had been made a cat's-paw by the country gentlemen, rather than the country gentlemen by the ministers; who would eat the chesnuts, he could not decide. As to the unfortunate accident in Burlington-street, there was no one, he believed, that would blame the right hon. mover for taking the most effectual means to defend his house; nor would any imputation be cast on him, even if any of the persons employed to defend his property had misbehaved themselves. Although he did not agree with the hon. baronet in his notions of reform, he thought the measure, if carried, would be more efficacious towards producing a reform in that House, than any speech which that hon. baronet had made or could make.

said, that though a friend to a reform of the representation, he thought that question had been most improperly mixed up with the consideration of the manner in which this country might best be supplied with provisions, both by the hon. baronet, and by the hon. gentleman who spoke last. The hon. gentleman, indeed, had mixed up with his speeches all that was inconsistent, heterogeneous, and contradictory—every thing that could excite the public mind, by imputing the most improper motives to the supporters of the Bill; and he must be conscious, however ] he lamented it, that the state of disturbance in which the metropolis was had arisen from such statements.

rose to order. He was convinced, from the well-known benevolent disposition of his hon. friend, that he had not any deliberate intention to cast improper imputations on individuals; but he would perceive that it went to make a member answerable for the consequence which a conscientious support of his opinions in the House might produce out of doors.

continued, that he thought it most improper that the hon. gentleman (Mr. Baring) should have attributed improper motives to any individuals or class of individuals. The consequence had been, that members, that he himself was not able, without personal inconvenience and danger, to attend his duty in that House. It was impossible for him to speak of the statements which he supposed to have produced this, without irritation. He concurred with the hon. baronet in what he had said respecting the representation, except as to the language which the hon. baronet had used on the occasion; but he thought the subject quite irrelevant to a question concerning the mode of promoting the agriculture of the country.

contended, that he was strictly in order, as to what he had said respecting parliamentary reform; and he repeated that the measure then before the House would injure the reputation of that House with the people. They would lose more by persevering in that measure than by any act that had ever taken place since he had sat within those walls. He had never said, that there were persons who had not voted conscientiously; but he maintained that this was a question between landed proprietors and the great body of the people. [No! no!] Gentlemen might say "No! no!" but he was persuaded he was right, without following the supporters of the measure in all their agricultural trumpery. The petitions were ordered to lie on the table.

begged to know if a treaty, which was not then ratified, and could not consequently be produced, but which had been required from the noble lord as early as July last, and several limes since, would be laid upon the table before the debate on Wednesday. Being then on his legs, he also begged to be informed, whether Government had received any intelligence respecting the landing of Buonaparté in France.

replied, that he would endeavour to produce the treaty of Chaumont before Wednesday. As to the second question, it was true that Government had received information that Buonaparté had landed in France.

hoped that the noble lord would produce the treaty on Monday: it contained many matters of importance to the discussion. He hoped that it would turn out that the conduct of Great Britain had been perfectly correct, and that our allies had been equally immaculate in the preservation of their plighted faith.

did not think it right now to reply to any insinuations, if they were intended. The treaty might not be ready before Monday, but at any rate the substance was sufficiently known.

remarked that he hoped the treaty would be forthcoming; the House had voted supplies upon the faith of the ratification of that convention.

observed, that it would not be a greater stretch to argue upon the substance of the treaty than to vote public money upon it.

objected to the noble lord, that he made a sort of favour of that which the House had a right to demand; it was the duty of every minister to lay a treaty on which money was voted upon the table the moment it was ratified. He demanded the treaty.

said that he was not aware that he had provoked language of that imperious kind. Ministers, without being influenced, would pursue that course which had hitherto secured to them the approbation of the House and of the country. Such terms did not become so sagacious and experienced a member. He would take measures to procure the treaty, but surely the substance would answer fully all the purposes of argument.

complained of the contemptuous manner in which the noble lord thought fit to treat members. Ministers had secured the vote of money, and now Parliament might obtain the vouchers as they could. He contended that the confidence shewn by Parliament in voting the public money, demanded a different return. The documentary evidence was absolutely necessary; and he ] was sorry that the noble lord required to be urged, not only to give this piece of information, but the whole explanation regarding his important mission. He inquired what money had been paid under the treaty?

replied, that no money had been paid under it.

said that the intelligence gave him great satisfaction; and after a few words from lord Castlereagh, the subject was dropped, on an understanding that, if possible, the treaty should be laid upon the table.

wished to know whether the noble lord would give the House some intimation of what had passed at the Congress on the subject of the abolition of the slave trade?

said that on Wednesday next, among other information, he should state what had passed on that interesting subject.

said that if, on Wednesday, it was intended to call for any opinion on the conduct of the noble lord, he, for one, should not give any opinion without documents having been laid before him. He should lay in his claim, both for time and authentic documents, before he could come to any decision on the subject.

said he perfectly concurred with the right hon. gentleman. What he should do on Wednesday was, to give a general outline of the business at the Congress, and not to call for any decision on his conduct.

said, that as in the course of the last two years, he had spoken at least nine times on the subject of the corn laws, he thought it unnecessary to trespass on the time of the House now in rising to move an amendment to the motion which had just been made. He lamented the popular commotions which had taken place, panegyrised the general conduct of the right hon. gentleman who bad brought forward the measure, and concluded by moving, That the Bill be read a third time on that day six months.

seconded the amendment, and observed, that the Bill being founded on averages which were known to be fallacious, the operation of it could not be effectual in producing stability of price. He regarded the measure as one of the many attempts to support the defective state of the money system, and that it had been proposed at the worst time that could have been chosen. He thought that even a regard to the public feeling should induce the House to suspend the passing of the measure, even if the Bill did not appear to them impolitic and unjust.

said the hon. gentleman who had just sat down seemed to think, that all the danger and mischief were on one side only; but if those who had argued in support of the Bill were correct in their opinions, the measure was absolutely necessary. There was a general impression, that the opening of our ports freely for the importation of foreign corn would prevent agriculturists from supplying our home market, and would occasion a general decline and decrease of agriculture. If that were true, what could be more serious, what more alarming? If it were true, it was necessary for the general weal of the empire that the Legislature should adopt proper remedies before it was too late. Gentlemen said, that every thing should be left to find its own level. He admitted this principle generally, but did they not see that in the present state of circumstances it was inapplicable? If the whole of Europe were under one government,—if it were one great family—if all were, as much disposed to dispense happiness as they were often found inclined to injure one another, he should then say, let every country produce that which the nature of its soil and other circumstances may render beneficial, and let it supply other nations with its superabundance. Nothing would be more just than that principle; but it was worthy of the most serious consideration, that those very countries from which we might derive supplies, were countries which, at no great length of time, might be united against this nation. If that were the case, we had sufficient reasons for not trusting to their kindness, or good policy. As to having been supplied by France at a particular period, he begged the House to remember, that that was not owing to the situation of our commerce, but because the French emperor found it a productive source of revenue. But would gentlemen put the happiness of so many millions upon an issue like that? Would they trust to the tender mercies of France for supplies? Would they trust to any commercial interests whatever? No; there could not be any truth more ] certain than this,—that a great country like England, should be independent of foreign nations with regard to her supply for food. Providence had given us the means of satisfying all our wants, and we should be ungrateful and undeserving, if we did not avail ourselves of its kindness. He was astonished, therefore, to hear honourable members argue, that we should depend on the policy of foreign nations for our existence. Did the great commercial gentleman, who had spoken so frequently on that subject (Mr. Baring) suppose that Trance would not raise the price of corn, when the demand for it was increased? If honourable gentlemen would consider that point, they would find that all the reasoning was not confined to one side. He would next say a few words as to the policy of promoting the agriculture of the country; and instead of speaking of the country gentlemen in the way which an hon. member had done, he would say, that it was the pride and honour of this nation, that we had that race of men in the country who fertilised the districts around them more than any other country in Europe. The manufacturing interests ought, no doubt, to be protected; and he was persuaded, that he, who had sprung from a commercial stock, and had so long represented a district where manufactures flourished to a great extent, would never be suspected of undervaluing commerce. But he wished it to be remembered, that no less than one hundred and fifty articles were prohibited, for the purpose of favouring our own manufactures. The whole would be injured in the end, and none more than the manufacturer. The agriculturist must be paid somehow or other; but people would give up some things, especially articles of luxury, for necessary food. Notwithstanding, therefore, all that had been said on behalf of the manufacturing interests, the House should consider the situation of the peasantry, who could not attend to plead their own cause; they should consider them as calling on the Parliament with ten thousand tongues, to protect them and their families. With respect to the restricting price, he had not heard one single argument to shew, that because the sum was fixed at 80s., the price of corn must necessarily be raised to that extent. But that price would a fiord a sufficient inducement to the agriculturist to improve his lands, because he knew that his expenses would be repaid by it. He should have thought, however, that 76s. were a sufficient price; but he saw most distinctly, that it would be better to go beyond what the consumers thought necessary, in order to protect the growers. He said, therefore, it would be with considerable apprehension he should stop at 76s., if those persons more conversant with the subject than he was should persist in preferring 80s.; though if we were guided by his own opinion, he should deem 76s. sufficient. If, however, the lower price was likely to diminish the cultivation of land, he thought it might produce an injury to the country that it would be terrible to contemplate. On this head, one side was as much concerned as the other,—the consumer as much as the grower; and if the alteration of one-fifth might tend, as had been represented, to introduce a scarcity of corn, it should at all events be avoided. Having, therefore, come to this conclusion, he felt it his urgent, though painful duty, under the present peculiar circumstances, to vote in favour of the measure. If he was in error upon the subject, his error was at least an honest one, for he had used every faculty he possessed thoroughly to understand it: and he was convinced that by passing the present Bill they would preserve from the greatest degree of danger and ruin even those very persons who imagined they saw nothing but ruin and distress in it.

thought a protecting price should given to the grower, and therefore heartily concurred in the present measure.

(of Cambridge) contended, that the agricultural interest ought not to be denied that artificial protection which parliament had given to every other interest in the country. He would have preferred the price being fixed at 76s. instead of 80s.; but now that the question was, whether 80s. should be preferred to 63s. he felt it is duty to vole for 80s. by supporting the Bill.

corrected a misrepresentation which had been very prevalent with regard to the measure which he had proposed upon this subject about two years ago, and insisted that that measure would have been by no means so operative as the present, as his measure would have only added 15s. per quarter to the existing import price. This allegation the hon. baronet sustained by describing the nature of his plan, the rejection of which he the more deplored, because if it had been adopted the distress since prevailing ] among the agricultural interests would have been prevented, and most probably no tumults whatever would have occurred. The hon. baronet observed, that as to personal interest he could have none whatever upon this subject with any view to rent, all his property being let out upon long leases. He contended, that the Lord Mayor was wrong in asserting, that bread would rise to 16d. if the present measure was adopted. The very week after he had made that assertion, he had been obliged to declare, according to the regular returns, that bread should be reduced one penny in the peck loaf, although the measure was then under discussion in the House. This showed, that the assertion was unfounded.

conceived no principle more sound than this, that the Legislature should not unnecessarily interpose upon any occasion, and therefore thinking the present measure quite unnecessary, he felt it his duty to oppose it. But, independently of this consideration, the public opinion was so decidedly expressed against it, that he should consider himself guilty of a serious dereliction of duty, and unworthy of being the representative of the county of Somerset, if he did not enter his protest against this most iniquitous and abominable measure.

thought, that the measure was far from unnecessary. Those who denied that it would lower the price of bread, only paid attention to its immediate and instantaneous, and not its future effect. A precarious market was always a dear one, whilst a secure market would always be a cheap one. The effect of the measure would be to maintain a medium price, and in a short time would probably keep that price even below the medium. The reason that so many petitions had been presented against the Bill, was that manufacturers lived collected in towns, whilst agriculturists were scattered over the country, and had not so many opportunities of assembling. If the Bill should not pass, agriculture would decline, and not only those lands little apt to produce corn would be thrown out of cultivation, but a proper degree of expense and skill could not be bestowed on those of a more favourable kind.

did not intend to have once more introduced himself on the House, had it not been for the appeal of of the noble lord who associated the opposers of the Bill with the recent dis- graceful proceedings. [A general cry of No, no!] He was glad to hear this denied. If any of the opponents of the measure had any part in the outrages which had taken place, they had adopted the most effectual mode of injuring the cause: or he rather thought, had made it a pretence to obtain other objects. He remembered a time, when the cry of 'No Popery' was raised, as at present that of 'No Corn Bill!' and he recollected a street, in which the mob exclaimed, 'Throw us out so many guineas, and we will not smash your windows.' He thought the same motives actuated the present rabble. He did not oppose the principle of the measure, but the price, which he thought was fixed so high, as to press heavy on the community.

said, that although he opposed the proposition upon this subject in 1813, because he thought it unnecessary from the very high price of wheat, he should support the present measure because the price of wheat was so very low, and the consequent distress of the farmers so very severe.

was anxious to treat the representations of the people, as conveyed through constitutional channels to that House, with all possible tenderness and respect, yet could not prevail upon himself to surrender to temporary feeling, the fixed and deliberate conviction of his own judgment upon a question of great national import. He shortly advocated the principle of the Bill, as calculated to give effectual protection to the interests of British agriculture; with confidence afforded to the grower of grain, a most important object of sound policy would be obtained. The rendering this country independent of foreigners in so material an article of its subsistence as bread corn, a plentiful supply would be insured from our own resources, and cheapness must follow a plentiful supply. Such being his conscientious view of the subject, and conceiving the measure (stript of the misrepresentation and misconception which had gone forth respecting it) as tending to promote the real and permanent interests of every class of the people; he trusted the Legislature would continue the calm exercise of its deliberative functions, and persevere in the cause it deemed to be right, for the benefit of the community at large.

said, that in this last stage of this obnoxious Bill he felt ] himself indispensably called upon to oppose it. He had heard no new arguments in support of it, and therefore remained firmly of opinion, that if the House passed the Bill it would put the whole kingdom into a state of dreadful ferment. [A cry of No, no! from the ministerial benches.] Gentlemen might cry 'No, no!' but he referred them to the innumerable petitions from every part of the kingdom, signed every where by the most respectable classes of society, as well as by the manufacturing, labouring, and lower orders; and he would ask them how they could fly in the face of so many thousands on thousands who felt themselves deeply interested, without supposing they must create a very great sensation in the whole country. The high price of 80s. had been fixed as a fair remunerating price, but he had heard no other authority for it but the opinions of surveyors, who had been proved to be interested. [Here ensued much coughing and other signs of impatience.] He would endeavour to discharge his duty as a representative of his constituents as well as he could, and, notwithstanding the disinclination there seemed to be in the House to give him a fair hearing, he was resolved to give his opinion. As an independent member of that House he had a right to do so; no such interruptions as those which had been offered should prevent him from doing what he conceived to be his duty; and if he should be obliged to retire from the House, he would take care the people of England should have his sentiments on the subject. There was no question that was more universally understood throughout all the various classes of the community than this was; it was obvious to the most common understanding. In confirmation of this, he mentioned a petition which he had within the last ten days received from several of his own tenants who rented land from him at rents which had been lately raised; and the sole prayer of their petition was that they might be permitted to pay their old rents. If this were acceded to, they would think they were sufficiently remunerated for every improvement they could make in their several farms. This clearly shewed that they did not see this measure in the same point of view that many members of that House did. He warned the House that it was putting a most powerful engine into the hands of the reformists, who would draw from it this incontrovertible conclusion, that a House of Commons which was properly constituted, and a fair and actual representation of the people, would not dare to treat their constituents with such contempt. He was himself an avowed reformist, and as such, might not perhaps be the most agreeable companion in that House; but he wished to do his duly, even in giving good advice to those who were not over-desirous to hear it. He condemned the precipitation with which the Bill had been hurried through the House. Gentlemen had said a great deal about popular clamour out of doors, but he had no hesitation in stating that he witnessed as much clamour within that House; and if it were intended thus to cry down and discourage every member who thought proper to oppose the will of the minister and the majority, that House was soon likely to become a mere chamber for registering the edicts of the Crown. The hon. baronet concluded with expressing his resolution, should the Bill pass that House, notwithstanding the continued and universal objections of the people, to use every effort in his power to have petitions presented to the Prince Regent, with a view to prevent its final enactment.

, while he allowed that great attention was due to the numerous petitioners who had approached the House on this subject, contended, that in many instances these petitioners had been misled by statements similar to those in which the chief magistrate of the city of London had chosen to indulge. He maintained that unless the measure were adopted, the people of this country would, ere long, be compelled to eat foreign bread, and to eat it at a dear price. Adverting to the argument which had been deduced by the opponents of the Bill from the fact, that during the late war every effort to prevent naval stores from reaching this country had proved ineffectual, he asserted that it went to establish the necessity of the present measure, for that the price of those naval stores had actually been doubled. He trusted that the good sense of the country would at last submit cheerfully to a measure intended to conciliate all conflicting interests.

maintained, that the citizens of London were competent to form their own judgment on this subject, and were not likely to be misled by the statement of any individual. The Lord-mayor might, in the warmth of discussion, have gone somewhat too far in stating that bread would be 16d. when corn was 80s.] a quarter. It must be recollected, however, that bread was now near a shilling, when the quarter of wheat was little more than 60s.

hoped, that one good effect these discussions would produce, would be to cause the method of taking the assize of bread in London to be very closely considered. He did not object to the principle of the measure, but to the price proposed, of which neither evidence nor reasoning had shown the propriety. He lamented that such should have been the rapidity of the proceedings of the House, that many of the petitions intended to be presented to the Commons, would now find their way to the Peers.

complained, that Parliament were hastening to a decision on this important subject, while the petitions of the people were yet pouring in upon them. All he wished was, that the question should be more fully investigated, and for that purpose he recommended the hon. gentleman who proposed the amendment, to substitute the second Monday after the Easter recess, as the time of reading the Bill a third time. He was convinced that the House were by no means in possession of sufficient information to enable them to decide correctly on a subject of such difficulty, and at the same time of such importance. None of the witnesses who had been examined before the committee were even asked what they conceived would be a fair protecting price in time of peace. Surveyors had said, that for six or seven years past, they were accustomed to estimate the value of land on the supposition that corn would be at 10s. a bushel. This period was, however, a time of war, and the supposition of that price could hardly be applied to a state of peace. He believed that the great farmers of this country, and a great part of the landed proprietors, by no means wished for so high a price as 80s. As to Ireland, no man could wish more sincerely than he did for its agricultural improvement. He was convinced that with encouragement, it was capable of becoming the granary of the United Kingdom. The Irish farmers, however, did not demand 80s. as a protecting price; but the evidence was, that about 72 shillings would be a sufficient protection for them. If, then, they only asked 72s. why should we fix 80s.? He had heard no one reason assigned why it should be at that price, in preference to some of the lower prices mentioned by other gentlemen. He conceived the necessity of this high price to be quite unsupported by evidence or reasoning.

rose amidst loud cries for the question, and defended the Bill at considerable length.

opposed it, and said that if the measure should be carried, he would propose two amendments; the one to render it liable to be repealed during the present session, the other to make it coextensive with the Bank Restriction Act. He recommended the hon. mover of the amendment to adopt the suggestion of his right hon. friend near him.

however declared, that he had heard nothing to induce him to relinquish or alter his original amendment.

next proceeded to make his two motions; the one for rendering the Bill liable to be amended or repealed during the present session, was agreed to; and that for making its duration co-extensive with that of the Bank Restriction Act, was negatived without a division. The Bill was then passed, and at two in the morning the House adjourned.